These stunning pictures of dumpster food will make you think twice about tossing your leftovers

All of the food pictured above was rescued from curbside trash outside of a market and bakery in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.Aliza EliazarovFood waste is a dilemma in the US, especially in the restaurant industry. Massive amounts — about 84% of unused food — make it to the dumpster daily.

Photographer Aliza Eliazarov feels strongly about this issue and wanted to bring it attention to it in a unique way. "Once I was able to somewhat wrap my head around the staggering statistics, I knew I had to make work that brings attention to this complicated issue," she told Business Insider.

Eliazarov took striking photos of the food she found in dumpsters around New York City.

1/

"As a person who communicates visually through photographs, it was most important for me to show the beauty in food that was on its way to being wasted," Eliazarov said.

Rather than taking pictures of the food in the dumpsters, Eliazarov rescues it, sets it up like a meal, and photographs it in 17th-century style.

"I began to study paintings of food and feasting in art, especially those from the 17th-century masters," Eliazarov said. "The way [the] food in these paintings were elevated to objects of art really spoke to me and made sense for this series and subject matter — to take food headed for the trash and make it art."

For example, the produce and flowers pictured below were rescued from curbside trash outside of Union Market in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

"The amount of good food being tossed is shocking," she said. "Trash bags filled with bread line the streets of New York every night."

Pictured below are immature egg yolks that were thrown out but could have been used for a dish. For example, during WastED — a monthlong event geared toward raising awareness about food waste — chef Dan Barber used immature egg yolks in his dishes. They were shaved over a stew of kale ribs, pockmarked potatoes, and parsnips.

"The amount of good food being tossed is shocking," Eliazarov said.

About 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally each year, and around 40% of that comes from restaurants.

"It's shocking that it has taken this long for the issue of food waste and its relationship to hunger, water conservation, and climate change to become a priority and food policy change begin to happen," Eliazarov said. "I'm excited to see big changes in the near future."